


Words in the library

by Campodesol_2000



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, POV Alternating, Pre-Relationship, non hunting AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 09:02:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14352285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Campodesol_2000/pseuds/Campodesol_2000
Summary: When Sam and his daughter Lucy visit their usual bookshop, they befriend someone special...





	Words in the library

Sam sighed softly. It had been a long and tiring week at work. No matter how hard he had worked, he still hadn't been able to finish his goals for the week. Hence why he was taking his daughter Lucy to the library that Saturday afternoon. He knew Lucy would be able to keep herself entertained amidst the shelves full of books for weeks on end if she wanted to, so that gave him some time to do some research for his latest project. Although there was a very big library at the other end of town, he always preferred the smaller and more specialised library that could only be reached from a cosy and quiet square close to his house. The building was owned by an old man that had lived through the war and had early on decided that he wasn't going to take over the family business. No, he was going to go into antiquities. This turned out to be easier said than done, but after a tough period, he managed to get the business going. And it was still going strong. You could buy the books you took a particular interest in and for a small fee every year, you could borrow all the books you wanted. Sam loved spending his weekends in the shops surrounding the small square. He and Lucy knew all the shop owners very well by now and they were always up for a chat. Today, however, they would just visit the library. Lucy ran ahead and opened the door, stumbling into the shop and hugging mister Ecklund, who picked her up and put her on the counter, despite his age. Sam looked at them while walking up to the shop, filled with fondness for his spontaneous and enthusiastic daughter. He stepped through the door in the middle of their conversation.  
   “Now, do you remember what I asked you last week about _Around the World in Eighty Days_? What did you think?” Mister Ecklund asked Lucy.   
   Lucy tapped her chin, obviously thinking about the answer. Sam smiled. She was such a bright child, especially for her six years. He had started learning her to read two years ago, and already she was reading classics. Mister Ecklund looked up and smiled at Sam in greeting, before looking back at Lucy when she spoke up.  
   “I think Passepartout’s watch was important,” she answered. “It kind of predicted the end of the book, but subtly.”  
   Mister Ecklund beamed. “That's right, you are going to be a very bright young woman one day. You will sweep everyone straight off their feet! Now, let me grab you a new book.”  
   Sam and Lucy waited for him to return and they climbed upstairs to their favourite reading nook. Sam quickly picked a few books he could use for his research and sat down at the table, allowing Lucy to walk around freely, trusting her to behave responsibly and not leave the store. Everything looked normal, except for one thing. There was something else at the long table too.

Gabriel was buried nose deep in an enormous pile of papers. Normally, he would have gone to the big library, but as it turns out, bigger doesn't always mean better. They didn't have half of the books he needed for his project. Even though he was only working on this text for fun, he still wanted to do it right. His concentration had faltered just slightly when a guy and his daughter entered the room he was working in, but after quickly looking the man up and down, he focussed on his work again. The man looked like he was way out of his league and there's no use in drooling over a man you were never gonna get. It was another fifteen minutes before he felt a slight pull on his sleeve. He looked around confusedly and saw the daughter of the handsome guy standing next to him and looking up to him with an innocent expression on her face. She was holding a very big book in her arms.  
   “Well, hello there,” he said, curious to what the girl was up to.  
   “Hello, sir. Could I ask you something? What are you doing?”  
   Gabriel blinked at the unexpectedly polite answer. “I’m reading some really old texts in three different languages.”  
   “Really? That's awesome! Can I see them too?” she asked enthusiastically.  
   Gabriel looked up at her father, silently asking for permission to pull her in his lap. The guy smiled sweetly and nodded once, before quietly turning back to his work. Gabriel lifted the girl from the floor and sat her down in his lap, where she made herself comfortable. She put her book on the table next to the disarray that was Gabriel’s work.  
   “Okay, so this,” he pointed at the text on the left, “is the original Greek text. It's almost three thousand years old.” The girl let out an awed ‘ _wow_ ’ and Gabriel continued. “Those other texts are the same text, but in different languages. Those ancient folks thought the myths written down in Greek were very cool, so they translated it to Egyptian and Arabic. I’m trying to find out which one was made earlier by the amount of differences there are from the first text.”  
   The girl nodded as if all the secrets of the world had just been revealed to her and pointed at the Egyptian texts. “But, those are just little pictures, how can that be a story like the other two?”  
   “Ah, yes, good question. Those are hieroglyphs. Every picture is a word or syllable, thus forming a text.”  
   “What is the text about?” she asked curiously.  
   “It's a myth. It explains the origin of spring and winter. Do you want me to tell you the story?”  
   The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please.”  
   “Alright, let's move to the more comfortable chairs over there, okay?” Again, this was a question more directed towards her father than the girl herself, but the guy just shrugged, indicating that it was alright. Gabriel picked her up as he got out of the chair and grabbed her book.  
   Before he could turn around, however, the girl's father spoke up.  
   “Just make sure I can still see you guys, okay?”  
   Gabriel assured the man they weren't going far and walked over to the comfortable and plushy chair that was placed in front of the fireplace. It was empty now, but he assumed it was used during the winter. Once they had both found a position that was comfortable, Gabriel started telling, not noticing the sideway glances the girl's father would give the pair.  
   “I’m Gabriel, by the way,” he said before he started the story.  
   “What a beautiful name!” the girl said. “My name is Lucy.”  
   “Why, thank you, I like your name too. Alright, now  for the myths. The Ancient Greeks believed there were a lot of gods. Each god had their own specialty. Hades was the god of the Underworld, where everyone went when they had died. One day, Persephone, the goddess of spring, found the secret gate to the underworld in a flower field and, as curious as she was, she entered the Underworld. She swerved in between all the souls of the deceased and met a lot of interesting people. The easy-going atmosphere was gone abruptly when she walked into Hades. At first, Hades was livid, but when Persephone apologised, he saw she was actually kind of nice, so he asked her if she wanted to stay for a while. But after a few days, temptations won from rational thinking and she ate from a pomegranate, even though everyone knows you can't leave the Underworld after eating from the food there. She didn't mind, but her mother did. She was still on earth and when she hears what had happened she went to the uppergod Zeus and in her rage demanded that he got Persephone out of there. When they got the message across to Persephone, se said that she didn't want to go to earth and she and her mother got into a fight. Zeus intervened and proposes a comprise. She would spend half of the year in the Underworld and half of the year on earth. All parties agreed and Persephone stayed in the Underworld. From then on, every time she was in the Underworld, the winter would set in on earth and when she came back, spring would start, thus causing the seasons.”  
   When Gabriel finished his story, Lucy clapped her hands excitedly. “That's very funny! Did that really happen?”  
   “Well, you know,” Gabriel smiled, “I’m not sure. These myths very well could have happened, who knows. Some people say the Underworld doesn't exist, but they don't have any prove that it doesn't, so for all we know, the Underworld does exist.”  
   Lucy giggled. “That would be so cool. Now, will you read me from my new book? It's also about an underworld, sort of. Mister Ecklund said I should read _Twenty thousand miles under sea_.”  
   “Oh, I love that story, let's read it together!” Gabriel immediately started reading and they totally lost track of the time. 

Sam couldn't resist sneaking glances at the guy reading a book to his daughter. The man was adorable, with his almost golden eyes and hair. He was obviously very smart and funny too, if the almost constant giggles were anything to go by. He also couldn't help but notice he and Lucy seemed to get along exceptionally well. Even though Lucy wasn't really shy, it usually still took her awhile to really open up to people. She didn't seem to have any qualms opening up to this guy, however, which told Sam more about the man’s character than a long conversation would have. He would gladly have watched the two of them all night long, but they had to go home soon, so he stood up and walked over to the couches and chairs in front of the fireplace. He sat down close to the pair and listened intently to the story that was being read. When they had reached the end of a chapter, he interrupted.  
   “Hey, I’m really sorry, but we have to go, Lucy.”  
   The man smiled at Sam and he felt his heart flutter a bit. He closed the book and handed it to Lucy before helping her off of his lap. When he tried to stand up and walk to his stuff at the long table, however, Lucy clung to the man’s leg and didn't let go.  
   Sam sighed, this wasn't going to be easy. “Lucy, come on, say goodbye to your new friend. I’m sure you will see him here again some time, but we have to get going.”  
   Lucy fiercely shook her head. "No! I don't want to go yet, it was too much fun. I’m not going anywhere without Gabriel!”  
   Sam pinched his nose between his fingertips. He only saw one way out of this situation. He looked at the man, Gabriel, with a desperate expression on his tired face. “I’m so sorry to ask you this, but are you by any chance free for dinner tonight? I don't want to bother you, but it's getting late and I really don't know how to get this,” he gestured at Lucy vaguely, “home without you coming too.” He wiped a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes a bit to get rid of the sleep that had built up this week.  
   Gabriel apparently took pity on him, because when he answered, Sam could feel relief flooding his entire body. “I would love to have dinner with you guys. I’m Gabriel, by the way.” He stuck out his hand and Sam took it.  
   “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Sam Winchester.”

 


End file.
